The Light In The Dark
by XxBamxX
Summary: What was supposed to be a simple mission to retrieve information ends in serious repercussions for Felicity. Slow-burn Olicity
1. Chapter 1

**I've had this idea in my head for like two weeks and it wouldn't go away, so here it is haha. Basically, it's set a little earlier in season 2 but there's still going to be some slight changes. Nothing too drastic, I don't think. Sorry for any mistakes! Also, I tried putting break lines to separate the different parts but I don't think they always show up x.x so If they don't I apologize. I tried!**

**Thank you for reading!**

* * *

"Felicity, can you send this out for me?" Oliver handed her a stack of papers.

"Yeah, sure, just le-" She was interrupted from her desk phone ringing. Holding up a finger to Oliver and an apologetic look, she reached out to grab the phone from the cradle.

"Oliver Queen's office, how may I help you?"

"Ms. Smoak? It's Bill down in security. There's an Officer Lance here to see you. Shall I send him up?" Her confusion must have been written all over her face as Oliver took a step closer giving her a curious look. The officer in question usually called her when he needed something Arrow-related. The fact that he was here in person had her worried.

"Ms. Smoak?" Bill spoke again, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Right, sorry. Send him up." She told Bill before hanging up the phone and sending Oliver a slightly panicked look.

"Detective Lance is here to see me." She knew he was no longer technically a detective but she felt it disrespectful not to call him by his former title. Especially since he lost the position due to his minor involvement in their nightly activities. "You don't think he knows about you, do you?" She asked Oliver in a hushed whisper even though they were the only two on the floor.

"Relax, Felicity. If he did, don't you think he'd be here to see me rather than you?" Oliver asked rhetorically in a calm manner. The thought crossed his mind as well, but he did not want to jump to conclusions.

"Yeah. Yeah, good point." No sooner than she spoke, the elevator pinged and Quentin Lance stepped out. She held her breath as he made his way over towards them.

"Detective. What can I do for you?" She smiled at him trying to simmer her nervousness.

"Hello Ms. Smoak. Mr. Queen," he turned his attention to Oliver, "If you could give us a moment?"

"Of course, Detective." Oliver gave Felicity a pointed look before stepping into his office, closing the door behind him. Felicity tried her best to maintain her the panic running through her, hoping she wouldn't give away to any hints that would blow Oliver's cover. She took a deep breath and reverted her gaze back to the detective.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you at work, but I was already in the area." He sparred a glance through the glass walls to Oliver's office to make sure he wasn't listening in. Though he wouldn't be able to hear what they were saying, Felicity knew him enough to know he was following along as best as he could from his desk. Fortunately enough, Oliver knew when to avert his attention elsewhere before Lance could see him.

Lance held up a manila folder that she hadn't even noticed he was carrying. She took it from him, but not without confusion. "I need you to get that to your _friend_, if you wouldn't mind. We suspect this guy is involved in selling illegal weaponry."

"If you already know who he is and what he's doing, can't you guys look into it?" Felicity asked out of curiosity rather than doubt or disrespect.

"We've tried, trust me. But this guy knows how to cover his tracks. Word around town gives us reason to believe it's more than just speculation, but I need hard proof in order for us to move forward with this. Your help as well if you're willing to look into him."

"Right, yeah, of course. I'll get this to him as soon as I can." She gave the man a smile.

"Thank you Ms. Smoak. Keep me updated. Enjoy the rest of your day." With that he headed back towards the elevator as she briefly flipped through the file he had handed to her. Once she was sure that Detective Lance was in the elevator and already on his way down, she turned and entered Oliver's office to relay the information.

* * *

It was nearly seven o'clock that evening that Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle, as well as Sara, were situated in the foundry. Felicity begun her research on Brian Wright as soon as she arrived. Diggle occupied a seat next to her while Oliver and Sara took to training.

After about fifteen minutes, Felicity's typing became more noticeable. More determined and slightly louder than before. "What'd you find?" Digg asked from beside her. He knew the tell tale signs of her frustration. She huffed in response at first.

"Well there's certainly someone going around selling military grade weapons but Detective Lance was right. Whoever this is sure knows how to cover their tracks." She noticed Oliver and Sara had now joined them by the computers. "I'm looking into this Brian Wright guy but I can't find anything to link him."

"You think Lance just got it wrong?" Oliver suggested, ignoring the disapproving look from Sara.

"No, I don't know. He seemed pretty confident about this it's just that…" She trailed off before her searching came to a halt. "Hm, that's weird."

"What'd you find?" Oliver stepped closer to look at the screens but quickly realized he had no idea what he was even looking at. "Felicity?"

"I hacked into his systems at Wright Communications and there's like a black hole in it."

"A black hole?" Digg asked.

"That's the only way I know how to describe it, I don't know. There's clearly supposed to be something within these time frames, but it's like everything just stops. There should be a file in here but there's no way to access it." She said as her fingers fell slackly from the keyboard.

"Can't you just hack into the files?" She turned to Sara shaking her head. "Not from here. I'd have to use their system to even attempt it."

"So what now?" Sara turned to Oliver.

"We could always break in to Wright Communications so I can hack in through their mainframe." Felicity turned in her chair to give Oliver a questioning smile. It was risky, sure, but there seemed to be no other way to obtain the information quickly enough.

"No." Oliver shook his head at her, a stern look in place.

"Well, why not? It's not like we haven't done something like this before." She looked at him exasperatedly. After all the things they do, this is what he turns down?

"That was during the day where I had a valid excuse for being there, and even then you almost got caught."

"Surely we can just sneak in tonight. Just hack into the security cameras. Make sure Felicity can get in and out without being seen." Sara suggested casually. Oliver turned towards her, his finger raised, ready to shoot down the idea when Felicity spoke up.

"Come on, Oliver. It's our best shot at getting this information." Oliver looked towards Diggle for support but instead only received a shrug. Oliver sighed.

* * *

A little over an hour later found them sitting in a van just outside the back of the Wright Communications building. Oliver had begrudgingly agreed to Felicity's plan and now here they were. Oliver and Sara were dressed as their aliases while Felicity adorned a simple black outfit and mask she had pocketed to cover her face just in case the security feed went live.

Felicity tapped away at her tablet, fingers flying over the screen. "Okay, the computer we need to get to is in his office. I've looped the security feeds and cut the alarm systems which won't last forever but should give us enough time." She handed Sara the tablet, "It's all set up for the thermal scanning."

Before they had left the lair, they set their plan. Oliver would lead Felicity into the building to get where she needed to go while Diggle would stay just outside the building to alert them if anyone new showed up and in case they needed to get away fast. Sara would be on lookout on the adjacent rooftop monitoring who was in the building and where.

"Alright, let's make this quick." Oliver said as he exited the van. Felicity followed suit while Sara took off to where she needed to go. Once they were out of sight, Digg drove the van around so it was hidden from view.

They made their way to the side where the parking garage was. Oliver took out his roped anchor and aimed it up towards the top level of the garage. Having done this before in a different circumstance, they worked in tandem. Felicity's arm over his shoulder, while his arm wrapped around her waist. Still not a fan of heights, she closed her eyes and turned her head into Oliver's shoulder as they propelled upwards. Just before they reached the top, he swung them into the second to last level.

"I'm never going to get used to that." Felicity shuddered. Together they headed towards the door leading from the garage to the building. Shooting an arrow into the lock of the door, he kicked it open, removing the arrow and entering the building.

"Stay close." Oliver's tone left no room to argue otherwise. Not that she would do anything else anyway.

"His office is only three more floors up and down the hall. The staircase should be close." Felicity whispered having checked the layout of the building before they arrived. "Here it is." She stopped just outside the door.

Oliver opened the door quietly, listening for any sounds before ushering Felicity through the door. They headed up the three flights of stairs before coming to a stop at the door leading to where they needed to be.

"You've got two men on the opposite hallway of the office. They haven't moved but that might not be for long. Be careful." Sara's voice coming through the earpieces. Felicity looked at Oliver nervously. He grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze before opening the door and heading into the hallway. Felicity held her hand on the door as it closed to keep it from banging against the frame but she couldn't account for the unknowingly loud click the handle made as the door fully closed. She cringed as they both stopped, breaths held.

"Ollie, they're heading your way." Sara's rushed voice sent Felicity's heart racing.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry. I tried to-" Felicity cut off her panicked whisper as Oliver shushed her pushing her behind him as he attempted to head in the other direction. It was too late, however, as two security guards spotted them as they came around the corner.

"Shit." There was no way to avoid them because either way, these guys would surely come after them. Deciding quickly he needed to take them down before they could call for backup, Oliver made his decision.

"I'll handle this, when you see an opening make a run for the office. Only when you have a clear opening." He said the last part slowly making sure she fully understood not wanting her to get caught in the middle. She nodded in confirmation as he headed towards the two guards.

"Stay where you are!" The gun aimed at Oliver did little to deter him as he grabbed the mans arms pointing the gun down before sending a right hook into the mans jaw. He faltered for a second before heading towards Oliver again. Felicity watched as he grabbed the mans arm flipping him over and onto the ground. The man laid unmoving and Oliver was already fending off the second guard. Seeing her opportunity, Felicity took a deep breath and took off down the hallway intent on heading past Oliver and the guards as she tried to stay as close to the opposite wall as possible. Too focused on getting past them, Felicity failed to notice the previously fallen guard was now standing and well aware of her presence.

With Oliver's back towards them as he fought the choke hold the second guard had him in, he too was unaware of Felicity's trouble until he heard the short panicked squeak that came from her as the guard grabbed her. With that, Oliver put everything he had into breaking the mans hold on him. Once he was free he grabbed the mans head driving it into the wall rendering him unconscious.

The man had Felicity's arm in an iron grip as she struggled to get away from him. Driving her foot down on his and sending her free elbow into the mans abdomen, his grip loosened enough for her to free her arm from his. However, as she went to get away he tried grabbing her once more. His grip failed, instead knocking her off balance. She gasped as her footing faltered from the push, sending her falling head first into an office door.

Wasting no time, Oliver ran over grabbing the guards gun and knocking him out with the handle. With a quick look to make sure he was out for good, he quickly averted his gaze to Felicity who was leaning against the door her hand to her head.

"Are you okay?" Oliver ask worriedly as he moved his hand to her head to check the damage. She inhaled sharply as his hand made contact to a quickly formed bump.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine just a bump." Felicity said as he carefully hauled her back on her feet. She swayed briefly grabbing onto his arm to gain equilibrium.

"Felicity?" Oliver grabbed both sides of her arms leaning down slightly to look her in the eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She shook him off, shaking her head, "Nothing. Sorry just lost my balance there. I'm good." Oliver looked at her unsure before breaking his gaze. He quickly went over to the unconscious men and zip-tied their hands behind their backs before returning to Felicity's side.

"Let's get this over with." He said to her before hitting the button to the comm, "Anyone else we need to worry about?" He asked Sara.

"There's no one else on that floor, but there's two more guards about six floors down. I'll let you know if they start making their way up." Sara answered.

"Come on." With a gentle hand against her back, he led them a few doors down until they reached Wright's office. Felicity entered the room immediately heading towards the computer while Oliver stood at the door. She sat down at the chair and navigated her way through the system. Having already looked into it at the foundry, it didn't take long for her to get to the files she couldn't access earlier. As she opened the files she quickly skimmed through making sure what she was seeing was relevant to why they were there in the first place.

After a few moments she brought a hand up to her head to ease the slow but steady throbbing that was now occurring in her head. When she returned her focus back to the monitor she noticed her vision wasn't as clear as it had been just a few seconds ago. She swallowed thickly, blinking her eyes to try and focus her eyes better. The result was minimal at best.

Not wanting to panic she brushed it off, focusing on her mission instead as best she could.

"Those guys are making their way up. I don't know where exactly they're heading but hurry it up in case."

"Felicity." Oliver turned to Felicity in warning.

"Yeah, just a few more minutes." She replied hastily as she inserted her flash drive into the computer tower setting it up to transfer the secured files that she had accessed. Her hands flew across the keyboard but she quickly grew frustrated when she seemed to keep hitting the wrong keys making her plan delayed by a couple seconds longer than what they had to spare.

"You guys need to get out of there. Now." Oliver stilled at Sara's voice.

"Felicity…"

"Just a couple more seconds." Felicity rushed out while Oliver headed towards her. She held up a hand, "Wait, just…" She watched rigidly as the transfer was at ninety-nine percent. As soon as it hit one-hundred percent, she ejected the flash drive just as Oliver grabbed her lightly by the upper arm, heading back out into the hallway in which they entered.

The pressure in her head had yet to ease as she stumbled, quickly apologizing as they made their way down the hall. Oliver stopped short when he heard the door to the stairwell open.

"Sara?" Oliver whispered into his comms.

"Damn it, Ollie, they're blocking the only exit on that floor." Sara exclaimed as she found a way to get to the roof of the other building. "I'll be right there." Felicity gripped onto the back of Oliver's jacket as he pulled her behind him. Together they cautiously continued down the hall heading towards their only way out other than jumping through the window. Oliver figured he'd save that as a last possible solution.

When they got as close enough as they could without being seen, Oliver quickly looked around before turning to Felicity. He grabbed her by the shoulders, easing her against the wall. "I need you to stay here." Her eyes widened in slight fear as she tried to focus on him through not only the dark, but unnervingly blurred vision as well. "Stay here. Don't move." His grip on her shoulder tightened slightly before he headed around the corner.

She leaned her head back against the wall as she worriedly waited for Oliver to return. She closed her eyes at the sudden onslaught of pain running through her head. She pressed a hand to her head where she hit it against the door earlier trying to ease the pain, inwardly moaning when it didn't have any affect. When she heard the sounds of a fight break out around the corner her eyes popped open and her head shot up. She knew it would happen, but she wasn't sure how many guys Oliver was up against.

Worried for him, she slowly made her way to the corner, bracing herself against the wall. Taking a deep breath, she slowly peeked around the corner her heart racing as she saw Oliver trying to take down the four security guards. She should have been quicker, then they could have been out of there sooner and he wouldn't be in this mess.

She saw a flash of blonde propel through the window and she breathed a sigh of relief. Sara was there now to help Oliver. Leaning back against the wall out of view she closed her eyes before they shot back open as the pain in her head became tenfold.

Black spots invaded her sight and without realizing it, she was now on the floor, back against the wall as she tried to quell the nausea running through her.

Her breaths became erratic when her vision wasn't going back to normal, instead getting increasingly worse. Panicked and finding it harder to breath she slowly listed to the side before she felt a pair of hands grab her.

She screamed trying to pull away from the hands on her but they only tightened.

"Felicity!" She heard Oliver's voice but when she looked up all she saw was an array of black and white blurs. Still pushing at the hands, she blinked a few times trying to see clearly but when she looked back up her eyes still hadn't cleared. "Felicity, what's wrong? Talk to me, Felicity." She could barely hear Oliver's panic through her own. Her hand shot out to him gripping the leather of his jacket. She relaxed only slightly at the fact that it was indeed Oliver.

"Oliver? Oliver, I can't- I can't-" And with that she was only vaguely aware of her eyes rolling back before she completely lost consciousness.

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**There it is! I have the second part planned out already, I just need to write it up. Please leave a review! It'll speed up the second chapter if you guys like this. Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, I did not expect for this to have as much feedback as it did in under a day! Thank you all so much to those who reviewed and Favorited/followed this story! It made my day! Seriously! It also fueled me to write this up as soon as I did haha. Thank you! :)**

**This chapter is for the most part in Oliver's perspective [kind of] (Which is also why it's shorter than I usually like to make chapters). The story, overall, will mainly be in Felicity's pov but I felt it necessary for this to be in his as it's sort of a filler. There may be more of his pov in the future but not as much. Hope you enjoy!**

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"Nice entrance." Oliver said as he watched the last conscious, now unconscious, guy drop to the floor.

"Thought I'd spare you from getting your ass kicked any longer." Sara responded lightly, nudging a foot against the nearest guy to make sure he was out cold. Satisfied she straightened before looking around the hallway. "Where's Felicity?" She asked worriedly not seeing their friend.

"She's just over there." Oliver nodded toward the corner of the intersecting hallway, "Felicity, it's safe now." He called out loud enough for her to hear but not enough to draw anymore unwanted attention. Not hearing a response, he called out again, "Felicity?" When he still received no answer he turned worried eyes to Sara before they both took off down the hallway rounding the corner until Felicity was in view. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief but it was short lived as he noticed her position. It wasn't so much that she was sitting on the floor that unnerved him, but rather the panicked erratic breathing expelling from her lips at a pace much too rapid.

He took a step toward her when suddenly she was falling to the side. In two large strides he was at her side, arms gripping her arms to hold her upright. The reaction he received was certainly not one he had expected. The panicked yell that fell from her lips startled him briefly and the fact that she tried pulling away from him only increased his worry and confusion.

He tightened his hold on her in not only a reassuring manner but to keep her from hurting herself. He was vaguely aware of Sara coming over to Felicity's other side.

"Felicity!" Brows creased as he tried to assess what had happened to her while he was gone to cause her to try and push him away. "Felicity, what's wrong? Talk to me, Felicity." In a sudden one-eighty, she was no longer pushing away from him. Instead her hand shot out landing just below his left shoulder. He watched concerned as recognition flashed through her wild eyes.

"Oliver? Oliver, I can't- I can't-" She exhaled shakily before her eyes rolled back in her head and she went limp, her head falling forward against his shoulder.

"Felicity? Felicity! Open you eyes!" Sara was now kneeling on the floor beside him grabbing Felicity and gently pulling her in an upright position as Oliver checked her pulse.

"Oliver, What's going on?" Diggle's worried voice shattered the short silence.

"Something's wrong with Felicity." He didn't mean for his voice to waver as much as it did. Sara spared him a glance before speaking up.

"Diggle meet us on the top floor of the parking garage. Hurry." Sara stood looking around the hallway before putting a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Ollie, we have to go."

Without a second thought he put an arm across Felicity's back and grabbed her legs from under her knees before rising to a stand. Sara grabbed his crossbow from the ground and together they made their way back to the stairwell, Oliver holding onto Felicity with more care than he imagined he could possess.

Entering the stairwell, Sara held the door as Oliver pushed through, minding Felicity's head against the frame. Looking down at her he quickly pushed down the feeling of his heart in his throat as he ascended the stairs as fast as he could up the two flights of stairs. Sara ran ahead of him and out the door leading to the top level of the garage, propping it open with her foot until he made his way through. They didn't have to wait long before the screeching of tires reverberated through the concrete walls signaling Diggle's hasty arrival.

As soon as he was in front of them, Sara pulled the back door to the van open ushering Oliver inside as he carefully placed Felicity on the back seat and against his lap. When she was sure they were fully inside, Sara slammed the door shut jumping into the front seat. She barely had her door closed before Digg took off down the winding concrete ramps.

"What happened in there?" Digg asked in panic glancing between Sara and Oliver via the rearview mirror.

"I don't know. I left her around the hall to take out the guards and when we got back to her she was on the ground. She- Something's wrong." Oliver ran his hand across her forehead pushing her hair back. He stilled instantly when he felt the bump along her head. "Damn it!"

"What? What is it?" Sara turned in her seat to see the cause of Oliver's exclamation.

"She hit her head earlier. She must have a concussion." At the realization the tension in the air slightly decreased at the revelation. While a concussion was still disconcerting, it wasn't anything they haven't dealt with before which meant it could be fixed.

"How much longer?" Oliver asked.

"I can make it in four." Oliver nodded at Diggle through the rearview before turning his attention back to the too-still blonde laying across his lap.

Not even ten minutes later the trio occupied the foundry as Felicity laid out across the metal table. Oliver stood to the side of the table, arms crossed as he stared down at the blonde. His eyebrows creased in concern. He averted his gaze as Sara made her way over, reaching into Felicity's coat pocket.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asked curiously.

Sara pulled out the flash drive, uncapping it. "Might as well get started transferring these files onto her computer." She walked over to the computer in question sitting at the chair and inserting the device into the USB drive.

Digg came over with an ice pack, cracking it in half to get the chemicals flowing until it was cold before placing it against Felicity's forehead. He pressed it gently against her head for a moment before letting it rest there, moving his hand to her wrist to check her pulse. "She shouldn't be out much longer. Hopefully." Oliver cringed at the last part of Diggle's words.

Deciding it was no use to just stand there, Oliver went to change into jeans and his gray zip-up sweatshirt before heading towards Sara who had just started looking through the files that Felicity had obtained. Through a few clicks and scrolling she came across the exact thing they were looking for. "Well, I'd say this is certainly enough evidence." Oliver nodded quietly as he skimmed through the inventory list of weaponry with Brian Wrights header on the top.

It wasn't long before they heard a low moan from behind them. All three whipped around heading to the table as Felicity started to come to. They watched as she slowly brought a hand up to her head, a look of confusion passing over features when her hand met the cold ice pack against her head.

"Hey, you." Diggle said from her left side as Oliver and Sara came along on her right. She moaned lowly in response. Seeing she was trying to sit up, Oliver went to grab her arm to help her rise into a sitting position. As soon as his hand made contact however, she jumped back. The ice pack clattering to the floor as she almost fell off the table had it not been for Diggle grabbing her and repositioning her back onto the table.

"Felicity, it's us. You're safe." Digg wasted no time in reassuring Felicity, sensing the panic coursing through her.

"John?" Felicity's voice small and hesitant. The three shared an uneasy look before Digg answered, "Yeah, Felicity."

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Sara asked softly. Felicity shook her head unsurely which did nothing to ease the worry of her partners and friends. "We went to get the hidden files from Wright's system at Wright Communications. Do you remember that?" Slowly Felicity nodded her head.

"Yeah, yeah we got the files and then…" She trailed off, a look of panic sweeping over her, "Oliver? Where's Oliver? There were guards and he went after them!"

Momentarily stunned, Oliver's jaw went slack, eyes widening at her words as he looked up at Diggle apprehensively before turning his gaze back to Felicity. "Felicity, I'm right here. We got out, but you have a concussion from when you hit your head."

"Oh. Yeah. That explains the headache then, I guess…" She trailed off turning her head to look around the room expressionless until her eyebrows quirked slightly. "So, where are we exactly?"

The silence that filled the foundry was almost unnatural. The only sound was the low whir of the computer systems running in the background. Suddenly every tick of the machine was noticeable as the three held their breaths.

Sara was the first to recover. She took a couple steps until she was right against the table. "Felicity," she said cautiously as she slowly placed a hand on the other girls arm. It was then that it clicked in her head that Felicity hadn't made eye contact with any of them since awaking. "Felicity, we're in the foundry."

Felicity's eyes shot open in surprise as Oliver and Diggle tried to comprehend what was going on. She turned her head left to right again before turning her head back towards Sara.

"Right. What's with the lights?" Her question snapped Oliver out of his stupor and he took a step closer. "The lights?" He asked, his tone tense. Not waiting for an answer he spoke again, "Felicity, what do you see?"

"What do I see? What do you mean? It's too dark in here to really see anything. Do you guys have the lights off or something?"

"Felicity, the lights are on…" Though Diggle's words were low and cautious, Felicity whipped her head towards him as he spoke.

"W-what? What do you mean they're on?" Her voice wavered. She brought a shaky hand to her eyes rubbing at them with the side of her hand before looking around once again. Blinking a few times, her breaths slowly started to become erratic as she tried, and failed, to focus on anything except random blurs here and there.

"Hey, hey calm down, Felicity. You've got to breathe." Oliver was at her side, a gentle hand against the side of her face as his fingertips resting slightly through her hair. Her breath hitched and she reached out to grab onto his extended arm, gripping the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

"Oliver, what's going on?" She asked. The fright evident in her words as her panic increased.

"This isn't just a concussion. She needs a hospital. Now." He glanced up at Digg, nodding his head as he turned back to Felicity.

"We're taking you to the hospital, okay? You're going to be fine." Had his heart not been nearly thudding through his chest, he would have prided himself on the calm demeanor in which he spoke to her just then.

For the second time that night, he lifted her into his arms following Diggle up the stairs, Sara not far behind. Felicity held her arm around Oliver's shoulder like a lifeline until she slowly felt herself slipping.

'_Not again._' She thought just before she lost consciousness.

The feeling of her going slack in his arms was like a punch to the gut. Tightening his hold on her, he put all the speed he could muster into heading up the stairs and out to the car.

"Digg, floor it."

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**So there's the second chapter! Let me know what you think! Reviews are wonderful :)?! Thank you! **


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm getting a little upload-happy here... The next chapter won't be up as quickly as these have been, but it'll be within the week. Thank you again for reviewing and favorites :)****My medical knowledge is absolutely terrible, as is my research capability, so please bear with me over the medical stuff and pretend I know what I'm talking about haha Thank you!**

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She wasn't sure what it was that dragged her from her sleep. She was only vaguely aware of the strange smell filling the slightly chilled air but she thought nothing of it as a slow beeping noise filled the room. The sound getting more and more irritating as she eased back into consciousness, she brought up her left hand to reach for the nightstand intent on making the damn noise stop. She stopped when she suddenly found her hand wasn't lifting as she wanted it to. She briefly passed it off as her hand going numb from sleeping on it wrong until she felt fingers move against her own.

Like a tidal wave slamming home, she was suddenly bombarded with an onslaught of feelings much like the ones she had before. In an instant she remembered the knock to the head. Waking up in the foundry having no idea where she was. The difficulty to see was the last thing to come back to her, hitting her like a freight train.

She blinked hard. She could tell her eyes were open but faint darkness was all she could see. She faintly registered the beeping noise slowly getting faster before it clicked that she must have been in a hospital.

_She needs a hospital._

_We're taking you to the hospital, okay?_

Suddenly remembering the hand in hers she squeezed it hesitantly. Almost immediately, her hand was squeezed back and she heard what must have been a chair scraping against floor before the darkness above her got slightly darker.

"Felicity?" She choked out a short sob in response.

"John, what's going on?" Her voice, small and fearful almost broke the older mans heart.

"I'll get the doctor." She recognized Sara's voice just before she heard the retreating footsteps from the room. Digg gripped her hand firmly before leaning in towards her, his voice calming her slightly.

"We had to take you to the hospital. You've been here since last night, but they had to wait for you to wake up before they could fully check you out, okay? They have to…. The doctor said he might have to do a few tests to determine what's wrong with your vision if it wasn't better when you woke up." He joined his other hand against hers, gripping her hand in both his reassuringly, "It's going to be okay, Felicity." She swallowed thickly before nodding her head in his direction.

She was about to ask where Oliver was when the sounds of footsteps interrupted her thoughts. Sara came up next to Diggle with a simple "Hey" with a soft squeeze to her arm.

"Ms. Smoak, I'm Doctor Richards. Can you tell me if you remember what happened?" She tried looking around as he spoke, only managing to see glimpses of unidentified light in random places, or at least what felt like random places. She was usually good with strangers, but the fact that she couldn't even tell what this man looked like did little to calm her as she laid in the unfamiliar hospital bed. Diggle and Sara by her side was the only thing helping, like some kind of intangible anchor.

"I fell and hit my head. I have a concussion, right?" She hoped the answer was enough having not been sure if they had told anyone how she ended up in her current state. She wasn't sure if there was some cover she needed to uphold, instead hoping her vague answer was enough. Luckily it was as the doctor continued.

"Yes, that's right. I understand you're having difficulty with your sight." She nodded apprehensively hoping he was looking. "Okay, Ms. Smoak, I'm just going to raise the head of the bed a bit and then I'm going to have a look at your eyes." Before she knew it she felt the top half of her body slowly being raised into a nearly sitting position.

She heard a small click and then immediately turned her head away as a yellow tinge invaded the darkness she had previously been subdued to. It certainly wasn't bright. Nothing like as if she had her full eyesight in that moment, but the quick change to dull and dark, to a barely-there light was still effective enough to shock her slightly. "Ms. Smoak-"

"Felicity." She corrected.

"Felicity, what can you see?" The doctor asked and she held back a bitter laugh as her free hand found the edge of the blanket covering her. Twisting the fabric between her fingertips, she hung her head.

"I can't see… _things_. I have no idea what this room looks like. But I can, uh, I can make out some light. Not…not the way I should, but just a little." She turned her head to the right, "I'm assuming there's a lamp there?" She stopped fiddling with the blanket to raise her hand in front of where the 'light' was, moving it back and forth as she watched the faded flicker of the shadow. With a heavy sigh she brought her hand back to resume her grip on the blanket.

"Felicity, I believe you may have some swelling against your optic nerve from when you hit your head which is what's effecting your vision. I'd like to run a CAT scan to figure out exactly what we're dealing with here, okay?" She could tell he was trying to be reassuring, but it just wasn't doing anything for her at the moment. She released Digg's hand and with a stuttered breath, gripped the blanker tighter.

"Am I ever going to see again?" She asked after a few seconds of trying to get the words out. She heard a short thudded sound and heavy footsteps in what she assumed was the hall before Sara let go of her arm. She listened as her soft footsteps faded out, presumably leaving the room.

"I'm sorry, I'd rather not give you any false hope until we get the results." She could hear the apologetic tone and while she wished she could have some kind of answer, maybe it was for the best not to get her hopes up. "Someone will be in shortly to bring you down to get the CAT scan done."

"Thank you, doctor." She was thankful for Diggle right then since she found herself speechless. She hadn't realized she had started crying until she felt a drop land on her arm. Bringing her hand up to wipe away the falling tears, she tried her best to hold them back as best she could. Inhaling sharply, she managed to stop the flow of tears, easing her breaths. Unbeknownst to her, Digg watched on, his heartbreaking as he watched her putting up walls.

"Digg, you still there?" She looked around knowing it was useless, but hoping just maybe it'd help.

"Yeah. Yeah, Felicity, I'm still here." She nodded, resting her head back and closing her eyes.

What was the point in even having them open.

"Is anyone else in here?" She knew Sara had left at some point but wasn't sure if she came back or not. She heard the doctor leave. The only person left was Oliver and surely he would have said something by now. She doubted he was in the room but it didn't stop her curiosity. "Just us." He answered simply.

"Oh." She inwardly cringed as even she heard the underlying disappointment in her voice.

"Felicity…" Digg started but stopped when someone entered the room.

"Felicity, hi. My name's Amy. I'm going to be taking you down to get the CAT scan." Felicity could tell she was friendly by the lightness of the woman's voice. She gave a small smile in the general direction though she was sure it didn't reach her eyes in the slightest.

"Nice to meet you, Amy." She held out her hand out of politeness in which the nurse returned the gesture. "You ready?" Felicity nodded.

"You want me to come with you?" Diggle asked.

God, yes. She wanted nothing more than to not be alone. However, she didn't want to be weak in front of her friend. Not when she had no idea what would happen or what they would find. Facing it in front of strangers would be bad enough, but she couldn't find it in herself to subject herself to a possible further humiliation. She knew her friends, her partners, would never judge her.

However, it didn't stop that one word from running rampant through her thoughts.

_Useless._

* * *

When they arrived at the room, Amy helped ease her out of the wheelchair they had used to transport her down. The doctor had cleared her after not seeing any other injuries, and so that she wouldn't need to be subjected to the hospital bed the whole time.

"Have you ever had one of these done before?" Amy asked her as she locked the wheels of the chair.

"No, I've never had anything but blood work done." She answered.

"Okay, well first you're going to lay down here and I'll explain everything as it goes, okay?" Felicity nodded hesitantly. Amy grabbed her arm helping her out of the chair and slowly navigating her to where she needed to go. Felicity walked cautiously, her hand out in front of her in an attempt to guide herself. Amy turned her around and she felt the table behind her. "The table is right behind you. Just hop on and lay down." Once she was seated on the table Amy told her in which direction she needed to lay.

"Felicity, right now you're on a table connected to a big donut-looking machine. When you're ready I'm going to raise the table up a little and it's going to move toward the opening of the machine."

"Am I going to feel anything?" Felicity asked nervously having never even seen the machine before.

"No. No, you won't feel anything but you will hear a loud whirring noise but that's nothing to worry about. Are you ready?" She answered in confirmation and startled as the table began to move. She felt it rise only a little before it stopped.

"You good?" Amy checked.

"Yeah." With that, the table then began moving horizontally until it stopped.

"Alright I'm going to turn it on now and this is when you'll hear that noise. I just need you to lay still, okay?"

"Okay." She inhaled before exhaling nervously. She heard the nurse hit a button and while she was warned about the noise it didn't keep from startling her. Unfortunately, it didn't keep her from having a near panic attack as well.

The machine shut off almost immediately but she couldn't hear over her erratic breaths. Couldn't concentrate through the tightness of her lungs.

"Felicity. Felicity! You need to breathe." Amy's gentle voice now replaced with that of command and worry. She did her best to ease her breathing and when Amy was satisfied she spoke up, "Would you like me to get someone for you?" She asked. Felicity shook her head quickly before replying.

"No. No, I'm sorry. I- I didn't mean," She took another deep breath, "I'm sorry I just wasn't sure what to expect. I mean, you told me but I don't even know what this thing looks like and the sound just startled me. I-I…" She trailed off suddenly embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"There's no reason to be sorry. It's completely understandable given the current circumstances." She paused, "I hate to do this though, but we need the scan. Are you ready to try again?"

"Yeah." She hoped. Luckily when Amy started the machine up again she knew what to expect and was able to stay calm and still as the machine did whatever it was doing around her head. Within five minutes, Amy was helping her off the table and back into the wheelchair.

"Fortunately, the radiologist is in so we'll have your results as soon as he gets a moment and then Doctor Richards will be by to let you know what's going on." Felicity listened as they made their way down the hall back to her room. "Here we are."

"Hey, my favorite blonde is back!" Diggle exclaimed from inside the room as she was wheeled inside.

"Thanks a lot, Diggle." Sara teased.

"My favorite blonde IT girl." He corrected as Sara laughed. The smile at the exchange crossed Felicity with ease. "Hi, John." She said as she stood from the chair, Amy and Diggle helping her back into the hospital bed.

"Just sit tight and the doctor will be in as soon as he gets the results. I'm going to put the heart monitor back on your finger now." Amy said as she reconnected the clip to her finger before she headed out of the room. Felicity heard her feet scuff against the floor "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay." Oliver's voice filled the room and Felicity whipped her head towards the door at the sound.

"Oliver?" The question tumbled from her lips before she could stop herself.

"Felicity," Oliver said in response, "How'd the scan go?"

_Could have been better._

"It went well. The doctor should have the results soon." Her hands found the end of the blanket again, it being the only thing she could keep track of without being able to see anything but random shadows from time to time.

"He's getting the results that quick? That's good." Sara said.

"Yeah. The radiologist is here so we don't have to wait long." She wanted nothing more than to ask Oliver where he was earlier. To apologize for causing so much trouble in what was supposed to be a simple mission. The fact that it was her idea made it even worse. She couldn't find it in her to face her failures in that moment, however.

"Oh! The information for Detective Lance…" She wanted to say more as the sudden thought occurred to her that they should probably get the information over to him as soon as possible. It took her a moment to realize she had no idea if there was anyone else in the room but hoped that if there were they would have told her earlier.

"Don't worry, Felicity. Sara forwarded it to him as soon as she uploaded it. Lance was correct in his suspicions after all." She wasn't sure what worried her more, Oliver's stoic voice or the fear that she was so easily replaceable now.

"All thanks to you, Felicity." She could hear the smile in Diggle's voice. She wondered if he could sense her worries and was trying to cheer her up. His hand fell on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. She brought her hand up to cover his when she felt him tense. She was hurt for a second thinking it was because of her until she heard a new set of footsteps enter the room.

"Felicity. It's Doctor Richards. We got your results in. Would you guys mind giving us a few moments alone, please?" Diggle removed his hand and she could just imagine him crossing his arms over his chest in defiance.

Before anyone could even think to move, not that they had planned on it, she shot up, "Can they stay?" She asked contradicting her earlier thoughts. "I mean… you guys don't have to." She added quickly realizing how pathetic she had sounded.

"We're staying." Oliver spoke up through the silence and she jumped slightly not expecting him to be as close as he seemed to be.

"Okay," She heard the doctor inhale sharply before resuming, "When you hit your head it resulted in an increase in intracranial pressure. That resulted in papilledema which is swelling of the optic nerve. Now, most times in cases like these the vision isn't as effected as yours was, which is rare." Felicity stilled not sure if she wanted to hear the rest of this. She wasn't sure whose hand grabbed hers but it didn't stop her returning the grip. "The good news is it's not going to last forever. As soon as the swelling is down your vision should return back to normal. I only say 'should' because there is a chance that it might not return as fully as before, but I'm confident that that is not the case here."

The silence in the room was suffocating as they took in all the information.

"So I'm not… I'll be able to see again? I'm not blind?" She forced herself to ask him the questions suddenly plaguing her mind at the information.

"I don't want to cancel out the possibility completely just in case, _but_ I'm confident that you have a better shot at winning the lottery than you do of not getting your vision back. Though I need to stress that you need to be prepared that it may not be as good as it was." She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until it released heavily, the hand gripping her hand once more.

It wasn't perfect, but it was certainly better than nothing.

"How long, do you think, 'til it could come back?" She asked.

"I can't give you an exact answer, but I'd say anywhere from two to four weeks." Two to four weeks. She could do that. That was definitely doable compared to a lifetime.

"What happens now? What do we need to do from this point?" She mentally face-palmed herself at not even thinking of that, just glad to know it wasn't permanent. Thankfully Oliver knew what to ask.

"Take it easy. Felicity, you'll need to rest. I know it seems like a long time, but at least for these next couple of days rest is vital. After that the swelling should be down enough for you to be able to move around but you need to be careful. No strenuous activity and avoid stressful situations. It's also important that you have someone to help you these next few weeks. The swelling should go down on its own."

"When can I go home?" The thought of those restrictions made staying at the hospital even more unappealing.

"I'd like you to stay here for observation. If everything looks good, you can be out of here tomorrow evening." She groaned at the aspect of being here that much longer.

"Thank you, Doctor Richards."

"No problem, Felicity. Rest up and if you need anything just let one of the nurses know. I'll be around." With that, she heard him retreat from the room. She leaned back against the elevated bed. She was relieved her loss of sight wasn't permanent but with all the information she just received she wasn't quite sure how to process it all either.

The hand that previously held her own was now removed. Shortly after Digg placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's going to be okay, Felicity. These next few weeks will fly by." She would have smiled at Diggle's words had it not hit her that he was on her opposite side. Ruling out him being the one who held her hand during the results, and it was certainly too rough and large to be Sara's. Which left one other person.

Oliver was there for her in that moment but she couldn't help but notice how distant and quiet he had been since she woke up.

A coldness washed over her and she couldn't help but feel like she had done something to make Oliver mad at her.


	4. Chapter 4

**So... I think I'm broken. I'm never this productive and I know I said this chapter wouldn't be out as quickly as the others were...but I couldn't help myself x.x ****  
I'm not completely sure how I feel about the middle of this chapter. The begining was intentional, and the end was more than I intended. But I feel like the middle is just kind of...blah. Hopefully you guys can follow along with it though. I've been writing this chapter on and off from 7pm last night to 8am this morning haha oops!  
Also again, thank you thank you thank you for your reviews, favorites, and follows! **

* * *

"What time is it?"

Felicity realized she didn't have the slightest idea of the time. She was suddenly aware of how much she had taken that for granted. To just be able to look out the window, or to glance at a clock. For all she knew it could either be the middle of the day or the middle of the night. She wanted to know how much longer she had left before she could be released. Not that she could really do anything anyway, but at least she would be comfortable in the familiarity of her own home.

Her home. The only place she would now be able to be comfortable in having been the only place where she could possibly get around without being able to see. Well, besides the foundry but she didn't think she was going to be visiting there until she got her vision back. _If_ she got her vision back that is. She shuddered at the thought. Helping Oliver and Diggle with Arrow business was part of her life now and she did not want to lose that.

"It's about ten o'clock in the morning." Digg said from across the room breaking her from her thoughts. She could hear Sara flipping through the thin pages of a magazine across the room as well. She had asked them earlier if there were any other patients in the room with her but apparently she had her own private room. She suspected this to be Oliver's doing, but if not than she guessed just being with him was enough to warrant her own room.

"_Ten?_" She questioned surprisingly, a hint of panic to her tone.

"Felicity?" She stiffened for a fraction of a second hoping no one noticed. Oliver had barely spoken since the doctor left the room a couple hours ago, or at least what she assumed to be a couple hours. He would speak briefly to Digg or Sara, but that was about it. She couldn't tell if it was coincidence that he was not talking to her, or if he was flat out ignoring her. It was hard to tell since she took it upon herself to leave him alone as much as posssible. If he wanted to talk to her he would have by now.

The fact that he hasn't was what was slowly tearing her apart. It was not her intention to get hurt, but she got what they went there for so she wasn't quite sure why he was mad at her.

He almost sounded as if he was worried. She could have laughed at the irony. She was certainly going to need to work on reading people without being able to look at them.

She briefly pushed her feelings to the back-burner where they belonged. "Oliver, you need to be at work! What are you doing here? You have to be at the office!" She noticed Sara was no longer flipping through the magazine. She faintly heard a small cracking noise coming from where Oliver was. She was about to question it when he spoke.

"It has already been taken care of, Felicity. I'm sure they can manage to keep the company running without me there." If it wasn't for the fact that she knew what Oliver sounded like, she would have thought it was a computer that was speaking. The lack of _anything_ in his voice was like a punch to the gut. She bit the inside of her cheek trying to keep the tears at bay as she turned her head in the other direction.

She suddenly preferred his silence.

"I'm a little exhausted. You guys should go home, get some rest. If you need me, you know where to find me." She bit her lip trying to rid of the sardonic smirk at the last part.

"Felicity-" Diggle started but she cut him off. "I kind of wanna be alone right now anyway, if you guys don't mind." The short bitter laugh ripped through her before she could stop it as she added, "Then again it's not like I would really be able to tell if you guys were here or not anyway, right?"

She wasn't really sure who started to speak as she interrupted them before they could get passed the first letter. "_Please._" She hated the way it came out in such a broken whisper.

"Okay," Sara said from across the room as the sound of her shoes hitting the floor broke through the silence of the room, "We'll give you a few hours alone. Would you like me to stop by your place for anything? A change of clothes?"

"Yes, please. John has a spare key, I think." Felicity answered after a few seconds of thinking it over.

"Yep, still got it. Felicity, are you sure you don't want one of us to stay?" Diggle said putting his hand over hers.

_No._

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. You guys probably need more rest than I do anyway." She smiled lightly as Digg removed his hand. "Let's go, Oliver." She heard Digg say. Oliver sighed heavily and it was then that she realized he was still next to her. She listened as the chair pushed back, a miniscule groan emitting from him as he rose out of the chair.

A hand was then on her shoulder but it was so light that for a second she wasn't sure what it was until she felt fingers. "I'll just be outside if you need anything."

"Oliver, no. Go home. Please. You need to sleep too." He could be mad all he wanted but she'd be damned if that stopped her from worrying about him. He worked himself hard enough as it was. She wouldn't be the cause of even more stress. She couldn't.

"Ollie, she'll be fine for a couple hours. Let the girl rest." Sara said. Felicity wasn't sure what the problem was, seeing as he had barely been around anyway. There was no response and for a moment she thought maybe they had left the room.

"Oliver." She heard Digg, contradicting her thoughts. The hand on her shoulder jerked slightly. She forgot it was even there.

"Fine," He cleared his throat, "They'll have our numbers if you need us." With that, the warmth of his hand was gone.

"Thank you." Her voice quiet, shaking slightly. She wasn't sure if it was from the exhaustion or the hurricane raging through her mind at the possibility, no matter how small, of never being able to see again. She wasn't sure if it was because one of the people she needed most right now seemed so far away.

She never hated the phrase 'So close, yet so far' as much as she did right now.

The trio said their goodbyes with promises of being back soon. She listened as their footsteps receded.

As soon as she heard the sound of the door clicking shut, a strangled sob tore through her despite her best efforts. Her hand flew to her mouth in attempt to smother any further sounds. She took a deep breath trying to restrain the impending downfall of the walls she failed to even put up in the first place. She couldn't breakdown like this. She refused. She didn't want anyone to see her in that state and though she had heard the distant footsteps and the closing of the door, there was really no way to know if anyone was still there, was there?

If anyone entered and she was too busy drowning in her own misery, how would she even know?

She grasped around the side of the bed until she found what she was searching for. After one or two trial-and-errors, she managed to lower the head of the bed down until it wasn't as elevated as before. She turned on her side, her back to the door, and concentrated on blocking out everything she possibly could. Thankfully, It wasn't long before she succumbed to her slumber.

* * *

She was pulled back to the real world from small sounds at her side. She heard what sounded to be things being moved around as well as a faint scratching noise that had no real sensible rhythm to it.

"Is someone there?" She asked hesitantly almost afraid of the answer.

"Oh!" A woman startled, the sound of something small clattering to the floor. "You scared me there. I'm Carol, your nurse for the rest of the day. I'm just checking your vitals. I'm sorry if I woke you." Carol said.

"No, that's okay don't worry about it." Felicity said smiling politely. "Everything looking good?" She joked. Carol gave a small laugh and confirmed. "So does that mean I have a chance at going home today?" She asked hopefully.

"No, dear, I'm sorry. Doctors orders. You'll be out of here before you know it though, don't you worry."

Felicity sighed, "It was worth a shot."

"Your friends that were here earlier are back, by the way. Would you like me to send them in?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. Thank you." She said hesitatingly. Part of her felt like maybe she needed more time alone but she didn't want to keep them waiting if they were already back. Carol finished up what she was doing, telling Felicity where the call-button was if she needed anything and left the room. Not even a minute later she heard the door opening.

"We're back. I brought you some clothes for when you're able to leave. Along with some other stuff as well that I figured you'd like to have like your toothbrush and things." Sara said as she entered the room, the sound of a bag being placed onto the table.

"I just realized I forgot to even tell you what to grab before you left, I'm so sorry. Thank you so much, Sara."

Sara laughed it off, "Don't even worry about it. I made sure to grab something comfortable."

"Anything's more comfortable than this stupid hospital gown." Felicity murmured earning a chuckle from Diggle.

"Wait, what time is it now?" She asked suddenly. There was a hesitation before she received a guilty sounding response from Diggle. "It's twelve o'clock."

"What? Did you guys even sleep at all?" She said exasperatedly. "There's no way you guys had time to leave here and go home to shower and sleep, get my things, and make it back here in just under two hours."

"None of us were tired enough to go to sleep anyway so it's not a big deal." Sara told her.

"You're all a bunch of liars." Felicity joked, but they all knew she wasn't happy that they had not slept.

She knew there were days they each went with very little to no sleep at all, but she didn't want them to suffer because of her. It was her fault she was in this mess in the first place. They shouldn't have to be sleep deprived because of it. She just wished they weren't all so stubborn.

"Knock, Knock." A new voice interrupted from where the door to the room was. "Hello, Ms. Smoak. Mind if I come in?" A voice she recognized as Detective Lance asked.

"Hello, Detective. You can come in." Felicity replied.

"Mr Queen. Mr. Diggle. Would you two mind giving us a few minutes?" She was confused at first but when he asked Oliver and Digg to leave, and not Sara, she figured it had to do with last night. After a few seconds he resumed talking so she assumed the guys had left the room.

"Sara told me what happened. Ms. Smoak, I'm _so_ sorry for getting you into this." It wasn't so much the guilt ridden tone he had to his voice so much as the overall apology that had her taken aback.

"Detective, yeah you came to me, but it was _my_ choice to break into the Wright Communications building."

"I'm going to ignore the criminal confession there." Detective Lance said jokingly. "Still, I'm so sorry this happened. I also came here to thank you. The information you provided was more than enough and we have Brian Wright in custody, all thanks to you. I owe you so much for this."

"I was just helping the Arrow, Detective." Felicity said absent mindedly fiddling with her blanket.

"Seems more like he was just helping you." He paused, "Or maybe not helping you at all. Where was he to make sure you were okay?" He added bitterly and she was quick to set him straight.

"Dad." Sara said in warning, not happy with his implications

"This wasn't his fault, it was mine. He did everything he could." Felicity said, more than offended that he would insinuate that Oliver hadn't tried to protect her, even if he didn't actually know that Oliver was the Arrow.

"Right, I'm sorry to make assumptions as I did." He apologized, "But what happened was not your fault either. It was an accident and I wish to god I could go back and not have come to you with this." He sighed heavily, "I have to get back to work, I just wanted to see how you were doing, but you'll get through this, okay? You'll have your sight back in no time, kiddo. You're strong."

Felicity stilled, not sure if 'strong' was something she'd really choose to describe herself anymore.

"Thank you, Detective."

"Bye dad." Sara called out as he left the room. "He's right, you know. You are strong and you _will_ get through this." Sara said so convincingly that she may have believed her, had it not been for all the lack of self-worth she was feeling. After falling asleep earlier, she had hoped maybe when she woke up that she wouldn't still feel as useless and hopeless. Unfortunately, if anything it had only increased. Detective Lance's words may have helped a little bit, but it was nothing that would be able to put a dent in the regret she had for screwing things up.

She really did have no one to blame but herself, and she couldn't see how anyone could think differently.

Not long after Detective Lance left, Oliver and Diggle came back to the room. Diggle entered announcing their arrival and then told her they had gone down to the cafeteria to get food for Felicity.

"I appreciate the thought, guys, but that really wasn't necessary."

"Felicity, It's fine. Don't worry about it." Oliver said finally speaking up since his arrival. There was movement from her left and the sound of a bag being rustled. "There's a tray right in front of you with your food. It's a turkey sandwich and a cup of fruit. There's also a bottle of water." He said presumably placing the things on the tray as he spoke and then twisting the plastic cap off the bottle.

The thought of food hadn't even crossed her mind. As hungry as she was, having not eaten since early in the evening the day before, she wasn't quite up to eating anything at the moment. "Thank you, I'll have some of it later."

She was grateful, she really was, but the idea of trying to eat something she couldn't even see wasn't that appealing. Not that she didn't trust their judgment in what they brought for her, but not being able to see what she was picking up exactly, or if she was dropping things everywhere, was a little unsettling. A recipe for humiliation. It was bad enough that she couldn't see but to be making a mess and not even realize it was not something she wanted to experience.

"You need to eat something." Digg said from across the room.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not hungry right now." She tried to sound as convincing as she could.

"Come on, even I'm hungry and I just ate like an hour ago." Sara said coming up to stand beside the bed. "Here, let me help you."

"No, Sara, really it's fine." She tried but Sara didn't budge.

"Felicity, just eat it." She would have punched Oliver if she even knew where to find him. Sara grabbed her hand and was guiding it towards the tray and she tried to resist. "Felicity." Oliver said again as she continued to try and deter Sara.

"Stop!" She hadn't meant to yell, but it was too late now. The all too familiar silence was back before Sara spoke. "Felicity, I'm sorry. I was just trying to help."

"I don't need help! I'm not a _child_!_" _She took a deep breath trying to calm down but the smell of the food in front of her did little to help. She shot her hands out in front of her to push the tray away but not realizing how close it had been sent it clattering to the floor. The sound of the water bottle hitting the floor as the water rushed out of the opening, and the clatter of what she assumed was a fork bouncing off the floor was what made her come to her senses. The image of what they had gotten for her strewn across the floor, all because she acted so immaturely, flashed in her mind.

The anger and frustration that came over her was quickly replaced by an amount of guilt and shame so intense that she felt her heart constrict. "Oh, god. Oh, god, Sara, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean- I didn't…" She was frantically pushing the covers off her legs, "I'll pick it up. I'm so sorry." Feeling along the bed, she moved her legs to the side to get up.

"Felicity, no. It's okay, really. I've got it." Sara said casually and with no disdain which made Felicity feel even guiltier than she thought possible.

"No, no, no just- just tell me where everything is 'cause I can't- I don't-" The slight hitch in her breath and the sting in her eyes hit her before she could stop it. She had just felt her feet hit the cold floor and was about to stand when strong hands were on her shoulders attempting to push her back down. "No, stop. Please, I have to clean it up." She tried pushing against the hands but faltered for a moment when she heard Oliver just inches away before trying again to get up from the bed.

"Shh. Shh, Felicity, stop! You're going to hurt yourself. You need to lay back down." She squeezed her eyes shut trying to keep any tears from falling as she finally gave up struggling against Oliver but still hadn't made a move to lie down.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" She hadn't even realized she'd been saying it until Sara said something. "Felicity, you have nothing to be sorry for. I've already got most of it picked up anyway. Hey, at least it wasn't soup, right?" She teased trying to lighten the mood but Felicity couldn't find it in her to see anything okay with what she had just done.

The anguish coursing through her was hitting her tenfold and she wasn't sure if she could keep it to herself much longer. Her outburst now seemed to break the barrier as all her emotions were rushing through her trying to find release all at once. With a shaky sigh, the onslaught of words that came next were nothing that she was prepared for as they spilled from her lips.

"Can you guys… Can- I. I need a moment. _Please_. Just a couple minutes. If you could wait outside for just a couple of minutes? I'm really happy you guys are here for me, really I am, but I just need to be alone right now. _Please_. I don't want you to see me like this, so if you could just wait out in the hall for like two minutes. That's all I need. It's… It's…" She guttural sob hit her at the same time she felt her eyes flooding with tears. The wetness rushing down her cheeks as she was no longer able to hold them back.

She clamped a hand over her mouth hoping it would have some effect. Before she knew what was happening, a strong arm was wrapped around the back of her waist as she was pressed up against Oliver's chest, her head just under his chin. His hand was pressing lightly against the back of her head. Her hands flew out to grip the material of his shirt as gut wrenching sobs took control, any hope of regaining composure was long gone.

The humiliation she wanted to avoid not even ten minutes ago was nothing compared to the humiliation she was sure she'd feel later. However, right now, the only thing she tried to concentrate on was Oliver's arms wrapped around her.

It was the only thing she could feel that wasn't complete and utter despair.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Please leave a review! Especially if there's something you don't like so I know how to change it or fix it. Leave a review if you like it, too so I know if I'm doing something right! I love reviews :D **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you everyone for the reviews! I'm shit at responding but I am so thankful for each one say thank you so much!  
Sorry for the sadness in the last chapter!...Okay, not really... I actually would have preferred if it was more heartbreaking haha** O=)**How crazy was that finale btw?! So intense. It needs to be September. haha okay anywayyyy... **

* * *

Much to her dismay, the humility of the situation came a lot quicker than Felicity would have anticipated. She was still grasping onto Oliver and while the tears and sobs were still somewhat fresh, they were starting to dissipate. The fear of having her friends see her breakdown was in full effect and while she couldn't see them, she could only assume that they were still in the room. She was only certain of Oliver still being there and that was only because he had been holding on to her as she cried her eyes out.

She never would have predicted her child-like meltdown. She never thought she could yell at any of her friends the way she had, basically throwing a fit. They were just trying to look out for her and she couldn't handle it. If she couldn't handle that, how was she supposed to handle the next few weeks, hopefully, of not being able to see?

She had no idea how much time had passed, but for their sake she hoped it had been fairly quickly. She dragged in a few deep stuttering breaths trying to ease herself back down from the storm of tears she had let overcome her.

As the humiliation and self-consciousness of the situation overwhelmed her she hastily pushed away from Oliver, running shaky hands under her eyes to wipe away the tears.

"I'm sorry." She said in a near whisper hoping it was loud enough for them to hear not having much desire to talk but new she needed to apologize. "It's just… this is a lot harder than I expected." Her voice cracked, the pain she was feeling shining through her words.

"Felicity, don't." Oliver grabbed her hand, "Don't apologize." Not finding the words or the energy she nodded her head, pulling away from Oliver to lay back in the bed. He reluctantly released her hand, rising from the bed as he helped her lay back down, pulling the rumpled blankets back over her. She heard Sara to the side as she turned the tray back upright, the small scraping against the floor as she picked the fork up off the floor.

"Sara…" She started, not fully knowing how to put into words how incredibly sorry she was for acting the way she did towards her.

"Felicity, no. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I didn't mean to force you and I'm not mad or angry at you in the slightest so please don't apologize. There's absolutely no need for it, understand?" She nodded again willing any new set of tears away. Once was bad enough.

She braced herself for another awkward silence between the group. She realized it was mostly her own fault and she hated it. She missed the closeness they all had as a team and it felt like she was single-handedly destroying it. Luckily, though, she didn't have to endure any silence for much longer as Doctor Richards walked in.

"Felicity," He greeted, but stopped probably noticing the tension in the room, or maybe what was supposed to be her lunch was still scattered on the floor, "Is everything okay in here?"

"Yeah. Yeah, everything's good." His footsteps got closer until they stopped just beside her bed. She listened as what sounded to be papers being shuffled around until the doctor released a small "Hmm."

"Is something wrong?" She heard Diggle say. There was a few seconds of silence as she tensed not knowing what was going on around her.

"Felicity, your blood pressure has risen far too much for my liking since your stats were last recorded." He said disapprovingly. "I may have to ask you guys to leave, give her some time to rest. If your presence in here is going to disturb her, I can't allow you to stay here." Her breath caught in her throat at the doctors words.

"No, they're not-" She started, rushed, not wanting them to be basically kicked out. Especially since it was her own fault if her blood pressure rose, not theirs.

"Felicity, maybe it's for the best." Digg interrupted her. "We'll head down to the cafeteria for a couple hours."

"It's for the best right now." Doctor Richards added. She wanted to argue, but she realized that maybe it _was_ for the best. Surely they didn't want to be cooped up in this room with her forever. Especially not after her temper-tantrum. Hell, if she could, she would get as far away from herself as she could but, unfortunately, things weren't that simple. And if anyone had to deal with her apparent mood swings it should be her and her alone. Some space for a couple hours could give not only them a break, but her a chance to get a grip on her emotions.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course." She forced a smile, trying as hard as she could to make it as genuine as she could. She wasn't sure if she succeeded, but continued anyway. "I'm sure you guys are hungry, I heard someone's stomach earlier." She tried, jokingly.

"We'll be back, Felicity." Oliver said as the three left the room.

"I came to talk about you going home tomorrow." Doctor Richards said once they were alone.

"I can still leave tomorrow, right?" She panicked, her heart felt like it stopped when she heard the doctor sigh.

"I would like to, but I can't let you leave until I know you're in a stable enough condition. Now, the rise in blood pressure, while a little worrying, isn't that big of a problem as long as it doesn't go up again. I've scheduled you for another scan tomorrow and as long as there are signs of you healing as opposed to getting worse, then I'm willing to let you leave here tomorrow as planned." He stopped. She remained listening suspecting more. There was a faint rustling she assumed was him shifting around but she was not quite sure. "Felicity," he continued in a softer tone than before, "I understand this is a difficult situation to process. There are psychologists here on staff that I can recommend to you if you would like."

"No, that's okay. Thank you, but I'll be fine." She didn't want to talk to a psychologist. She didn't want to talk to a complete stranger as she sat in her own darkness when she wasn't even sure if she knew the extent of what she was dealing with yet. She didn't question their ability to help, but it just wasn't her kind of thing.

"Okay." He said reluctantly, "Don't be afraid to rely on your friends, Felicity. They care about you a lot." She didn't need to be told that. She knew they cared, but she knew she couldn't blame them once they wanted to get back to their own thing either.

Before exiting the room, Doctor Richards let her know when she'd be brought down for the new cat scan the next day and all she could think of was being able to leave and be alone in her own home.

_Alone._

The more and more she thought about it, she wasn't quite sure if being alone was really what she wanted. Yeah, she knew the layout of her house and where everything was. She wasn't afraid of knocking things around by mistake. No. She was afraid of the indefinite darkness that would consume her once she was free of this place. Being home usually unnerved her a little with how quiet it could get. Sometimes the slightest sound would make her jump before she shrugged it off and went back to whatever it was that she was doing. So how was she supposed to deal with that now that sounds seemed to be amplified. She didn't suddenly have super-hearing, but she was certainly more attuned to the noises around her.

She was becoming used to her friends footsteps by now. She was finding it easier to tell where they were in the room based on where the sounds were coming from. How close or far they were from her.

Part of her hated it. She didn't _want_ to get used to it. She didn't want to get used to any of it. All she wanted was to have her sight back. Sadly things didn't seem like they were going to be that easy.

* * *

She wasn't sure exactly when or for how long she dozed off for but when she woke up she was met with silence. The infamous silence that seemed to be becoming her new friend and she wasn't even in here for a full day yet.

"Hello?" Felicity tried experimentally, not sure if she was alone or if there was someone else with her. She was met with silence and she sighed heavily. Not really sure what else to do with herself she started fiddling with her hands trying to think of ways she could still work with her computers in her condition. She moaned frustratingly having not been able to think of anything. Giving up, she took to 'looking' around the room, trying to see if she could differentiate between where it was darker or lighter and why.

After what seemed like forever, the sound of the door opening had her sitting up straighter, head turned in the direction of the door, "Is someone there?" She asked.

"It's Carol, dear." The woman said warmly, "I checked up on you a little while ago but you were sleeping. You're a little dehydrated and I figured you may be hungry as well so I brought you some food." The idea of food not only made her realized that she probably should be eating, but again brought up the guilt from earlier. She forced it down, instead mustering up a smile as she thanked Carol.

"Oh, it's not a problem! I'm just going to place it right here on the tray. It's directly in front of you. There's a chicken breast with vegetables and a buttered roll. I've also brought you a bottle of juice and a bottle of water. I wasn't sure which you'd prefer. Straws and utensils are to the right of the plate and there's a napkin to the left. Would you like any help?" Felicity quickly shook her head from side to side. While she learned her lesson last time, she didn't want to take any chances.

"No, that's okay. I think I can manage, but thank you very much."

"Okay, if there's anything you need don't hesitate to hit the call button." With that Carol was gone, closing the door behind her, and Felicity was alone once more.

Thinking about it, she realized she had been pretty thirsty. Raising her hands up, she slowly inched them in front of her until she felt the cold metal. She moved her hands gingerly around the top of the tray until she felt something. As she grasped hold of what she hoped was the water bottle, the sound of the one from earlier hitting the floor reverberated in her mind. She cringed trying to ignore it. After a few seconds she brought the bottle in towards her trying not to knock anything over.

"Need any help with that?" She jumped nearly throwing the bottle out of her hands having not heard the door even open.

"Digg?" She asked cautiously, "Is that you?" She heard him walking towards her.

"Here, let me open that." She slowly raised the bottle up a few inches until he took it from her. "Oliver was getting a little restless down there and we didn't want to bombard you since we weren't sure if you were awake or not, so I came to check on you." She listened to the small snap as he twisted the cap off the bottle before placing it back in her hands. "There's a straw in there." He added, "I am your favorite after all." She felt the bed dip slightly as he sat towards the foot of the bed.

She laughed, "Of course, Digg. Don't tell the others." With one hand holding the bottle, she used the other to grasp the straw, bringing it to her mouth to take a sip. She must have been more thirsty than she thought when Digg gave a short laugh, "Woah, slow down there or you might drown."

"Jerk." She said lightly as she attempted placing the bottle back on the tray. After a few failed attempts she sighed letting Diggle do it for her.

"John," She started hesitantly, "I'm really sorry about before. I hope you guys don't hate me now. I really didn't mean to act the way I did."

"_Hate you_?" Digg replied in disbelief, "Felicity, we could never hate you. How could you even think that?" She nervously fiddled with the all too familiar blanket, surprised it wasn't worn away to nothing by now.

"Well, with the way I acted before I could understand. Plus…" she trailed off, not sure if she was ready to voice the next part out loud. After a few seconds, she continued quietly "Plus, Oliver's mad at me already so I just-"

"Stop." Diggle's interrupted her, his voice short. "Felicity, Oliver isn't mad at you. Where did you even get that idea?"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter." She said hanging her head not wanting to have this conversation.

Not sure if she even _could_ handle this conversation.

"No, nope, you're not doing that. I'm not letting you close yourself off like that. Talk to me, Felicity. What makes you think Oliver would ever be mad at you?" Digg said in a tone that implied she had no way of ignoring it now even if she tried.

"He just… He didn't even want to go to the Wright building in the first place and I practically forced it on him. And it was supposed to be simple and I messed it up and almost got us caught." Felicity took a deep breath feeling the tears threatening to fall.

"Hey, he doesn't blame you for that. None of us do. What happened in there was _not_ your fault. Not even a little bit." He told her reassuringly.

"Then why does he keep avoiding me? He's barely even around." She forced out even though her voice barely strained above a whisper, trying to get Digg to understand. Didn't he himself wonder why Oliver wasn't around as much as him and Sara?

"_I'm gonna kill him_." Diggle whispered more to himself than to her. For a moment she wasn't sure if maybe someone else had entered the room, but then he continued. "Felicity, aside from when you went for your CAT scan and when either you or someone else had us leave, you haven't been out of his sight. He's been rooted to this floor every chance he's had. Hell, when you told us to go home earlier I thought we were going to have to sedate him with the death glares he was giving Sara and I." He paused as she tried to process everything he just said. "As soon as they let us in to see you last night he didn't leave the room for a second. I thought he was going to kill anyone that came near you, actually." He joked.

She didn't even have time to fully register what he had just told her as she found herself speaking before she could stop herself, "But… that can't be right. Even if he was, he's barely talked to me. I don't understand. How could he not be mad at me?" Digg sighed.

"Felicity, you need to talk to Oliver. But believe me when I tell you there is no way that idiot is mad at you."

"I-" She cut herself off, not knowing what else to say as she brought her hand up to wipe away her fresh tears. She wanted nothing more than to believe Digg, and to have Oliver talking to her again. Though for some reason, the prospect of it all seemed to scare her and she wasn't sure why.

"You want to be alone for a little while longer?" Digg asked resting his hand on hers.

"I don't know." She whispered brokenly, "I don't know what I want. Digg… I don't know how to do this."

"You don't have to do it alone, Felicity. We're all here for you. Remember that."

* * *

"This is stupid." Oliver said as he ran his hand through his hair frustratingly, pacing the small distance of the room. Diggle had left them to head back to Felicity's room as he and Sara occupied the small but empty waiting room at the end of floor that Felicity's room was on.

"Ollie, sit down." She ordered from her seat as he turned to glare at her.

"No, Sara. There's been plenty of enough time for her blood pressure to go down, there's no reason to wait here when we could be in there with her." He growled impatiently.

He continued pacing wanting nothing more than to send his fist through the wall. He didn't even realize he almost did until Sara had a grasp on his arm pulling it back.

"Ollie, stop! Sit down." She gave him a stern look, not backing down until he sighed, closing his eyes before he just barely relaxed. He flopped down in the nearest chair resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands against his head. He tensed slightly at the feeling of Sara's hand on his back before he relaxed. "Come on, Ollie. Talk to me." She baited. After a brief stretch of silence he looked up. Sara nearly gasped at the look of pure grief in his eyes.

"She shouldn't be here. I was there to protect her. Get her in and out in one piece and I couldn't even do that. Now she can't even see and I…. and I…" He trailed off throwing himself back in the chair squeezing his eyes shut.

"You can't think like that. This isn't your fault."

"How is it not?!" He bellowed sitting up straighter. Tense. "I knew this was a bad idea from the start, but I gave in and look where that got us. Look where it got her!" He clenched his hand into a fist, his knuckles turning white.

All he had to do was get Felicity into the building and keep her safe. He failed her and now she was left to deal with the consequences of his failure. He wasn't sure if she would ever forgive him.

He couldn't blame her if she didn't.

"Stop! You know damn well Felicity wouldn't blame you! What happened was an _accident_ and you did what you could. Do you really think she thinks so little of you to forget that? You're an idiot, Ollie! She needs you and you're being an ass!"

Oliver turned to her, looking incredulous. He was about to tell her off when she continued with less fire than before, "Do you think I haven't noticed? That Digg hasn't noticed? You've been closed off ever since we brought her here and you brooding is not going to help her. If there was ever a time she needed our help, _your help, _it's now. And you need to get it together before you do something you're going to regret." With that, she walked out of the waiting room, leaving Oliver alone with his own thoughts.

He didn't know how long he sat in there for, but when he headed back to Felicity's room he stopped short at the open doorway. Diggle sat in the chair on one side while Sara sat in the bed next to Felicity, one leg extended next to hers while the other hung off the side of the bed. He leaned against the door frame silently, Digg and Sara too engrossed in their conversation with Felicity to notice him at first.

Felicity laughed at something Diggle said as a genuine smile adorned her face.

He stood up straight, ready to turn and back head where he came from. He did enough damage already, there was no reason to cause any more when she finally seemed to be in a better mood. He spared one more glance at Felicity before Digg caught his attention, a glare on his face, and if looks could kill he was sure Digg wouldn't spare him in the least.

Oliver sighed, everything in him screaming that he had no right being there. That she would get better, much quicker, if he wasn't around.

But he couldn't do it.

With everything in him, he walked into the room taking a seat in the unoccupied chair, hoping he could find a way to make everything okay for her again.

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**Figured I needed to add a little bit of Oliver's POV. Nothing major as you can see, but enough haha.  
The next chapter is going to pick up a little quicker. It won't be as dragged out so there's going to be a bit of confrontation in the next chapter =O Thank you for reading =)!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Felicity sighed as she swung her feet softly over the edge of the bed.

Her remaining time seemed to go by fairly quickly. Late last night, Diggle and Sara had headed home with the promise of being back in the morning. They were hesitant to leave at first but eventually gave in. She figured it had to do with the fact that Oliver insisted on staying and that was good enough for them.

Once Digg and Sara had departed, Felicity anticipated an awkward rest of the night. Surprisingly however, Oliver hadn't been as quiet as he had been. Not to say he was striking up full conversations here and there, but there was occasional small talk, like before, yet not like before. There was still some tension and she couldn't help but wonder if it was really there or if it was all in her head.

She inquired where Oliver was going to sleep, after making it known that she wouldn't let him go without sleeping, knowing how stubborn he could be. She could tell he wasn't thrilled with her argument, but he was even less thrilled when she sought out the call button, asking a nurse to have a cot brought to the room. He continued sitting in the chair even after the cot was brought into the room.

"Would you rather the bed?" She had asked after a while.

"What?" Oliver responded after a few seconds. She didn't need to see his face to tell how confused her question had made him. She sighed.

"If you're not going to sleep on the cot, I'll sleep there and you can have the bed. I'm kind of sick of it anyway."

"Felicity, you're not sleeping on a cot." He replied, his voice flat and she could almost hear his eyes rolling. It didn't take long after that that she heard the springs of the cot as he settled atop of it. She had known he wasn't sleeping. Not sure how long before he would sleep. _If_ he'd sleep at all.

She remained in the bed, intent on going to sleep but she couldn't. Diggle's words replayed in her head and she wanted nothing more than to ask Oliver about it, but she hadn't been able to even think of how she could put her thoughts into words. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't been a little relieved to hear that Oliver had been so close most the time. Yet the fact that he had remained silent for the majority of the time was like an incessant nag in her mind that he could still be mad at her. Whether or not it was as extreme as she had thought, the possibility still built a home inside her thoughts. A big and loud home that blocked out the view of anything else.

Though he wasn't sleeping as his breaths had yet to even out, she had focused on that trying to forget everything else and eventually she welcomed sleep.

When she woke up it was a blur of tests and scans to make sure she was up to par. She tuned most of it out due to the anxiousness of whether or not she'd be able to go home. As much as she had wanted to leave the hospital, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she'd be better off in the hospital. In the hospital she didn't have to worry about whether or not she could see, she could just lay there and waste time away. But that's not who she was. It's not who she wanted to be. She didn't want this obstacle to get in her way, to weigh her down and make her weak. She just wasn't quite sure how to keep that from happening.

So now she sat on her bed dressed in the jeans and sweatshirt that Sara had brought her the day before. Her results came back indicating the swelling, while it didn't go down very noticeably, wasn't getting worse either and so she was able to finally leave. It was scheduled for her to come back twice more in a weeks time to make sure she was getting better.

She lightly scuffed her sneaker clad feet against the floor as she swung her feet back and forth waiting for Oliver and Diggle to come back after following the doctor out as he went to sign her release forms. Presumably bombarding the man with questions as Sara sat with her. She wasn't sure when exactly Sara and Diggle had come back to the hospital, but when she came back from her scans they were there as promised.

"You okay?" Sara said as she sat down next to Felicity, nudging her lightly. She stilled for a second, trying to think if she was doing anything to give away if she wasn't. She came up with nothing but she had been lost in her thoughts so she was sure she could have been doing something unknowingly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She offered a smile hoping to make her words more convincing.

"You're going to get your sight back again." She said it with so much conviction that Felicity believed her, until the reality of the situation reminded her that there was no way to really tell.

"What if it doesn't?" She cringed realizing that's not what she meant to say, but the fear of it was so strong that even her subconscious was against her. "That's not what I meant to say."

"It will, Felicity. You've got to believe it will and hold on to that." Sara said as she put her arm across her shoulders. She had just leaned in towards Sara's side only straighten up again.

"What's that noise?" She listened intently as a small constant squeaking sound started getting closer to the room faintly followed by what sounded like footsteps.

"I don't k- … oh, it's a wheelchair." Sara said as the squeaking sound stopped.

"What?" Felicity asked.

"Hospital policy." A voice she didn't recognize at first until she realized it was Doctor Richards, "You've got to use it until you're out of the hospital. I've signed your release forms so you're free to go. Mr. Queen has all the information you're going to need including when and where you'll need to go for your checkups. Any questions before you go?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, um, I've never been in a hospital before so I'm not really sure how the hospital bills work?"

"Oh, well, Mr. Queen has already taken care of that for you." He replied sounding a little uncomfortable.

"What? No, Oliver-" She started hastily before Oliver cut her off.

"Felicity, it's fine. Don't worry about it." He said

"Okay, well you're all set. I'll see you in a few days. Be careful, okay?" She nodded, still trying to process the fact that Oliver paid her medical bills. Sure he had the money, but this was her responsibility and he shouldn't just be throwing his money around like that.

"Your chariot awaits, Smoak" She laughed lightly at Digg's words as the doctor left the room. Sara hopped off the bed and she went to follow, but before she was even off the bed, Oliver grabbed her hand, "Thank you" She said as he guided her towards the wheelchair and turning her until she felt the seat at the back of her legs. She felt around for the arm of the chair until Sara grabbed her other hand. With both their help, and a surge of embarrassment, she was seated in the chair. With the hand that Sara had had, she now had a death grip on the arm of the chair. She felt Oliver starting to pull his hand away just as a wave of anxiety overcame her at having to face the real world. She snapped out of it briefly just as she felt herself not letting go of his hand. "Sorry." She said quickly, releasing his hand just as fast.

"I'm going to bring the car to the front." Diggle told them as he went to leave the room.

By the time they made it outside, she was surprised she was still breathing. As she was wheeled through the whirring sound of the automatic doors, she immediately squeezed her eyes shut bringing her arm up to cover her eyes.

"Felicity, what's wrong?" Oliver said, the worry in his voice was apparent.

"It's just… I guess I didn't take into account how much brighter outside was than indoor lights were." She slowly pulled her arm away trying to adjust to the change. While it certainly wasn't as bright as it seemed to her, the switch from inside to outside light was more than what she had expected. She tried adjusting to it as she also tried to process what she was 'seeing'. It wasn't as blinding as looking into the sun or a flashlight, but rather looking into those things with your eyes closed. Though instead of red or pink it was like a mass of faded colors blurred together as little spark-like things came and went.

She brought her head down as she felt a headache forming. Oliver must have taken notice as she felt the chair being turned, "I'm taking you back inside."

"No," She shot her head up, "No, Oliver, it's fine. Please. Just leave it." He stopped pushing the wheelchair but still hadn't said anything so she continued. "I think they mentioned something about this… said it was to be expected. I just forgot."

"You're sure?" Sara asked from in front of them, "It'd be safer to check it out while you're still here." She suggested and the last thing Felicity wanted to do was to go back on there.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure." She willed her eyes to cooperate with her through the sensitivity and luckily after some time it got a little more bearable.

"Here, put these on." She heard Digg say, not realizing he was already at the front of the building, as he pressed something into her hands. "They're sunglasses. Maybe they'll help."

"Thank you." She gently ran her hands along the pair as she opened them and positioned them so she could put them on.

"Better?" Oliver asked from behind her as if he'd be ready to bring her back inside at any moment if she needed to. She 'looked' around briefly, satisfied when they managed to make an impact. "Yeah, much better. Thanks, John."

"You can keep those. I rarely ever use them anyway." Diggle responded.

"I promised I'd go meet up with my dad so I'll see you guys later." Sara said, "Felicity, call me if you need anything at all, okay?" Felicity nodded in thanks, glad she already had Sara's number, as well as the guys, already set on speed-dial.

After they said their goodbyes, she started to rise from the chair, gripping the arm rest as she went. Before she was even fully standing, Oliver was lightly grasping her elbow, helping her up.

"Okay, so where's my horse drawn carriage?" She joked as she held her other arm in front of her, not fully outstretched but enough so she would know if she was about to walk into something. Oliver twisted her a little, "Car's straight ahead." He told her as they started forward.

"Car? Oh man, I wanted a horse. Digg, you wound me." Digg laughed as she took cautious steps forward until Oliver stopped her.

"There's a curb and then about two steps until the car door." Oliver told her, her grip tightening as her foot searched for solid ground after stepping off. She took two steps as he said, while she reached out with both hands to find the top of the car, not wanting to knock her head against it as she entered. She got in successfully, sliding over in the seat until she felt the door against her left arm, so Oliver could move to sit next to her.

Once they were on the road, Felicity leaned her head against the window, listening to the sound against the tires on the road, the cars driving past them. She let it lull her into a world of thoughtlessness. When the car finally rolled to a stop she noticed the lack of traffic sounds.

"We're here, Felicity." Digg said from the front seat as she sat up straight. She searched for the handle at the same time she heard the car doors opening. As she continued searching, her door was opened knowing it was Digg as she heard Oliver just coming around the car. A popping sound was made before she realized he must be getting her bag from the trunk.

"Would either of you mind helping me to the door? Face planting on those concrete steps doesn't seem that appealing." She asked once she was out of the car waiting for Oliver to hand her bag over.

"You didn't tell her, did you?"

"Tell me what?" She asked, confused by Digg's question. Oliver sighed.

"Felicity, I'm staying with you." Oliver responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What? Why? I mean, I get why but there's no need for you t-"

"It's either that or you stay at the mansion, but I figured you'd be more comfortable and more familiar with your own home." He interrupted.

"Well, yeah, but…" She trailed off. Any other day, she would put up more of an argument. That she didn't want to put him out and that it wasn't necessary for him to stay with her. But right now she knew that wasn't true. She hated it, but she was terrified. Not so much of the darkness, but the sheer loneliness that came with not being able to look at anything. She wouldn't be able to just walk into her home and read a book, or watch television. And while she didn't expect much from Oliver's end, at least there was the security of having someone there with her.

She just wished the act wouldn't be so imprisoning for him.

Being stuck there with the blind girl.

* * *

She never imagined feeling awkward in her own home. While it was minimal, there was still the fact that she couldn't just saunter around as she pleased. When they got to the door Oliver had taken her keys to unlock it. He turned the lights on when they got in, locking the door behind them. She'd managed to convince him to let her find her way to the couch on her own. He obliged, but no matter how quiet he could walk, she knew he was hovering. She had made it to the couch in one piece with the exception of banging her leg against the end table and a muttered curse.

After a few moments of silence, she told Oliver he could leave, that he didn't have to stay here.

"Felicity." He said, sternly. She should have known it wouldn't have been easy.

"Fine, then can you at least sit down or something. It's a little weird to have you just standing there not doing anything." She said as she leaned forward toward the coffee table. Hands moving along the surface until she found the remote. "Here, watch something at least." Holding it out in his direction. He was silent until he sighed, grabbing the remote and taking a seat on the other end of the couch.

They had gotten through at least two sitcoms, so she could only assume an hour had gone by. She barely paid attention though, still too guilty that he was pretty much babysitting her. As if she was some kind of child. He didn't deserve this, to have to basically be her eyes. She was sure she could manage on her own.

She wrung her hands in her lap as she realized, yeah, she could manage in her own house, but how was she supposed to manage in the foundry, or at Queen Consolidated?

The thought hit her heard. She certainly didn't want to be under house arrest until she was able to see again. Sure, she could make do without being at Queen Consolidated, but then she would feel bad that Oliver had to deal with a new assistant who didn't know their routine.

_New. _

No, not new. Temporary. She pushed those thoughts away not even wanting to think of not being able to go back to her job. It wasn't her ideal job, but it kept her close to Oliver and Diggle and it made it easier to handle any Arrow business when they couldn't just leave and head to the foundry.

She felt her heart clench at thought of not being able to go back to helping Oliver at the foundry. It was a huge part of her life and that place was her second home. It was bad enough that a few weeks seemed like it was going to be forever. She didn't want to abandon them in order to sit at home completely useless. She tried thinking of ways she could get around it. She could always just have the computer read her the text on the screen. Though what if she needed to look at security feed while he was out on the streets? Or if she needed to give him directions? She couldn't even fathom how that would work. Maybe if she had more time… but she didn't want to have more time. She wanted her vision back.

She didn't want to have to think of all these new ways she was going to have to adjust until she could start to see again. In retrospect, a few weeks wasn't that long, but in the darkness, even the past day felt like a lifetime.

She tried to will her thought-induced tears away, but it didn't seem to be working. Especially that her guilt now felt like it was literally eating away at her. To make matters worse, a range of emotions were passing through her and she couldn't seem to get a grip on any of them.

"Oliver," she rushed out as she rose from the couch, "Oliver, you don't need to stay anymore. I'll be fine on my own."

"What? Felicity, I'm not leaving you alone." He stated as the sound of the television was no longer heard.

"No, please. It's okay. If anything happens I'll call one of you guys, I promise." She brought her hand up to rub at her now watering eyes.

"Felicity, stop." Oliver said, now right in front of her, his hands on either side of her arms. "What's wrong? Talk to me." While his words came out in a rushed whisper, the underlying emotions buried in his voice were deafening. She pulled out of his arms. She selfishly didn't want him to go, but realized it would be easier to distance herself now, to prepare for when he actually did leave.

She knew she must have looked foolish, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to find the words.

"Hey…" He tried encouragingly and for some reason that was all it took before anguished tears streamed down her face almost as fast as the words from her lips.

"I know you don't want to be here, and that you probably hate me. And that's okay, it really is! I understand I messed up, and I'm so sorry and I wish I could go back and have been more aware. But we got the information and we didn't get caught so that's something, right? And you shouldn't have to suffer, or…. or be put out because I screwed up. So you can leave, because I'm sure that making sure I don't walk into a wall or something is the last thing you want to do. So you can go home, or to the foundry or wherever and it'll be okay. No one will blame you, I promise." She barely got the words out before a wretched sob broke through. Putting the back of her hand against her mouth to block out anymore unwanted sobs, she turned to walk away in the direction of the door so Oliver could leave. She barely took a step before he was grabbing her and turning her back towards him. Her arms now stiffly at her side, just wanting this to be over.

"Whoa, _whoa_… Felicity, hold up." She felt the warmth of his palm against her cheek as his thumb wiped away the tears making the great escape out of her tear ducts. "I don't hate you, okay? I could never hate you. And I'm not mad at you. What happened was _not_ your fault. It was m- It wasn't your fault, you understand?" When she didn't say anything, he guided her back to the couch easing her down as he sat next to her.

"Why didn't you say anything?" She asked. The words barely coming out audible, but he heard them anyway.

"Say anyt- … When?" His confusion was evident.

"The hospital." She said slowly, her voice still barely above a whisper, willing herself not to fall apart. "I didn't… I thought you were just avoiding me. That you didn't want to deal with me or something, or that you were mad, but Digg told me you were there practically the whole time. If you were there, how come you didn't say anything?" She asked brokenly.

A huff of air expelled from his lungs as he stood up. The amount of footsteps in the small area indicating that he was probably pacing back and forth. The distance he put in between them did little to calm her nerves as she wrapped her arms around herself. A small tremble coursed through her and she couldn't differentiate between it being from cold or from _everything_.

She didn't know if it was noticeable, or if it was just coincidence, but immediately after, she felt the couch dip down as Oliver sat next to her once more. She braced herself for what he would say. _If_ he would say anything.

"_I'm sorry_. Felicity, I am _so _sorry." The raw intensity of his words shocked her, clearly expecting a different tone. Different words. "I am not mad at you. I never was." He paused for a few seconds before continuing, "I don't know why I didn't say anything. Maybe because I had no right to be there, and I didn't want to… make things worse."

"Make things worse? I don't understand." She said, her face contorted in confusion as she tried to process his words.

"_I was supposed to protect you_." His voice just as quiet as hers had been before. "You got hurt because I failed you. It was _my _fault that guy got a grab on you. _I'm _the reason you can't see right now." He spoke vehemently. "So no, I'm not mad at you. Not at all. But you have every _right_ to hate me." She didn't miss how his voice started to break in the middle.

Worry now replacing her previous guilt, she turned her body towards Oliver reaching out to grab onto his arm, "Oliver, no. You _did_ protect me. I…. " She trailed off, realizing the irony of the situation, "So basically, we're each trying to drown ourselves in guilt…" She said with a curt laugh as she wiped away the last of her tears.

"If I had know that's what you were thinking I would have fixed it right away, you have to know that." She didn't even have to question how true that statement was.

"I'm s-" She cut him off before he could finish the word. "No, please don't finish that. You have nothing to apologize for. Plus if you say 'sorry', then I'm going to say 'sorry' and while I still feel _really_ bad about this whole situation I'm just really glad that you're not mad at me." She breathed out in relief. He didn't respond, instead grabbing her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

She didn't know how long they sat like that, each processing what had just happened. She knew Oliver would still hold himself responsible. It's how he was.

But she also knew this because she couldn't help but still feel the responsibility was still all on her.

Knowing Oliver wasn't mad at her lifted a huge chunk of the weight off her shoulders, but she still didn't want to burden him.

"I, um, I know you might try and argue with me, but you really don't have to stay with me." She said to him.

"You're right." He responded and she felt her heart drop much to her dismay. He could do as he pleased and she wanted nothing more than for him to be free of her own problems, but part of her still dreaded him leaving.

"Yeah, so if-"

"About me arguing with you," He interrupted, "You're right."

"What?" She asked.

"If there's any reason for me to not want to be here, it's because I don't like that you have to deal with this at all. But unfortunately you do and god I would do _anything _to fix that for you, but I- I _can't_. Felicity, I'm not going anywhere." He promised. "I will _always_ be here for you." He whispered.

His words were like an anchor for her and she held tried to hold on to them as much as she could. Doubt still flooded her mind, of course, but she was still processing the conversation. She didn't even notice at first, but Oliver had wrapped his right arm around her shoulder, pulling her in against him, her head resting against his right shoulder. With her thoughts reeling from the conversation they just had, topped with her earlier thoughts, her mind was racing.

"I don't know how to do this, Oliver." She said softly and she felt him still before he tugged her in closer to him.

"It's only for a few weeks. Just a few weeks and then you'll be able to see everything again, Okay? It'll be over in no time." She nodded her head. Bringing her right hand to rest over his left shoulder and winding her left against his back, she hugged him as slow silent tears fell. He didn't say anything and that was okay because he held onto her tighter and in that moment, it was exactly what she needed.

* * *

**So... Felicity finally has some insight into Oliver's attitude! I meant for this to be more dramatic but my mind doesn't want to cooperate with me haha. What'd you think? **

**Let me know! Thank you for reading! **


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